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November 2005 - Posts

The Girl Who Ate Everything has a bit of a homework assignment to explain food blogging. I started writing a short comment, but it kept growing, even though I don’t think I have the “answer.” Because I seemed a little too verbose, I thought my thoughts Read More...

Nothing is more comforting than some nice French toast on a weekend morning, even if I do have a full day of work ahead of me. I cut some 1– or 2– day old Essential Bakery baguette into roughly 1 inch thick slices, and dipped each slice into Read More...

A midnight snack Earlier this week, I had a late night hunger pang, and I wanted something small and simple to nibble on. With some leftover renkon (lotus root) handy, I started cooking the renkon in a bit of butter until slightly golden brown on each Read More...

I’ve been swamped today trying to catch up with orders. Unfortunately, I didn’t get as far as I had hoped, so I need to knock out a lot of the rest tomorrow or I’ll be in desperate shape. I was able to pick most of my orders for in-stock Read More...

On eGullet an innocent inquiry by a restaurant-savvy Manhattan denizen about disposable chopsticks turned into a lively discussion about Japanese food-related taboos . Namely, Japanese seem to be resistant to reusing chopsticks, and people are far more Read More...

My favorite steamed Chinese bun is one of the simplest. After proofing a fairly standard, slightly sweetened yeast dough, I massage in a tiny bit of baking powder, which seems to affect elasticity. I roll out the dough as thin as practical, then rub in Read More...

I was pleased to hear a feature on Japanese ukulele player and singer Tsuji Ayano on PRI’s The World . I’ve been listening to her music since around March 2000, when I ran into one of her early full-length albums at a “New Release” listening station in Read More...

On a whim, last Friday night I made a savory galette-style cheesecake. I improvised the dough, cutting a bit of clarified butter into flour, adding a bit of mace and salt, then working in a bit of cold water in a well. I hurriedly caramelized some onions, Read More...

As winter approaches, I like to get back to my roots and tubers. (Insert groan here.) Borscht is a colorful way of incorporating several earthy fall and winter vegetables in one simple, comforting dish. It doesn’t take much: tonight’s borscht involved Read More...

I haven’t made it down to the Beaverton Uwajimaya for a while, so it was a good thing I finally made it down there. I got a late start due to a bunch of things that I needed to prepare this morning, and I had so much merchandising and preparatory Read More...

As a starving student in Marburg, Germany, I used to eye a couple of shops that apparently specialized in baked baguettes, quite often with Camembert or Brie, and some vegetable, mushroom or meat. The concept was as simple as it was seductive. But in Read More...

I was mostly in rush-everywhere-mode today, going from customer to customer and errand to errand. I got a fair amount done but I’m still behind on a couple of things. Actually, until tonight, I didn’t even get around to sending out shipping notifications Read More...

My dragon beard candy shipment finally made it in this afternoon, just at the end of the scheduled delivery window. I got to furiously packing a couple of express shipments, and some other behind-schedule dragon beard candy orders. I just barely made Read More...

My dragon beard candy order cruised through customs and FDA clearance today, which is a relief after a series of messy problems on the Hong Kong side. The freight vendor told me everything was ready to pick up at the airport, so I went down to the cargo Read More...

After stopping in Ballard briefly I went to my office to work on a long outstanding, slightly complicated project, and it kept me there a little late. I started to get fairly hungry, because both breakfast and lunch were quite minimal. I had a simple Read More...

Roadside dining options in the United States tend to depress me. I usually end up at burger-and-shake stops looking for a token veggie burger or a milkshake, or at some poor satire of a Mexican restaurant serving things made with canned black olives, Read More...

I have been frustrated for the last few days with some shipping issues… it reminds me of my very first dragon beard candy shipment, when the competence to book the cargo seemed to fail my shipping vendor, which at that time was Yamato transport. This Read More...